Glossary | The Cochrane Collaboration (worth bookmarking)

examples:

Adverse effect search for term

An adverse event for which the causal relation between the drug/intervention and the event is at least a reasonable possibility. The term ‘adverse effect’ applies to all interventions, while ‘adverse drug reaction’ (ADR) is used only with drugs. In the case of drugs an adverse effect tends to be seen from the point of view of the drug and an adverse reaction is seen from the point of view of the patient.See also: Adverse event, Side effect Also called: Adverse reaction

Baseline characteristics search for term

Values of demographic, clinical and other variables collected for each participant at the beginning of a trial, before the intervention is administered.

Causal effect search for term

An association between two characteristics that can be demonstrated to be due to cause and effect, i.e. a change in one causes the change in the other. Causality can be demonstrated by experimental studies such as controlled trials (for example, that an experimental intervention causes a reduction in mortality). However, causality can often not be determined from an observational study.

Molecular Test Aids in Identifying Cancers of Unknown Origin - Medscape (pathology/molecular diagnostic test - 15 different cancer types...)

".....The identity of most tumors can be determined "with confidence" by clinicians with histologic, clinical, and radiographic findings, say the study authors, led by James P. Grenert, MD, from the Department of Pathology at UCSF. "However, when tumors are poorly differentiated or metastatic with no clear primary, identifying the tissue of origin is difficult," they write.
Immunohistochemical stains may or may not be helpful in identifying the tumor origin. Molecular testing of tumors is an additional means of characterizing these tumors, the authors say.
TOO is the only molecular diagnostic test for cancer tissue of origin cleared by the US Food and Drug Association, the manufacturer notes. It is limited to identifying 15 types of tumor tissues: bladder, breast, colorectal, gastric, testicular germ cell, kidney, hepatocellular, nonsmall-cell lung, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, melanoma, ovarian, pancreas, prostate, thyroid, and sarcoma. These 15 tumor types represent 90% of all cancers, the company points out....."cont'd

The study was funded in part by a grant from Pathwork Diagnostics.
Clin Chim Acta. 2011;412:1462–1464. Abstract

RID: Preventing "C.diff" - Clostridium difficile

AHRQ: Health Care: 20 Tips to Help Prevent Medical Errors: Patient Fact Sheet

conference notice: (Human Genome Meeting - Sydney) HGM 2012 • Scientific Program

draft agenda

(adverse event) abstract: Inadvertent cystotomy at laparoscopic hysterectomy – Sydney West Advanced Pelvic Surgery (SWAPS)

Conclusion: 
Inadvertent cystotomy is a recognised complication at hysterectomy. The rate in the SWAPS unit is comparable to that of other published series. Overall, there has been a decline in the rate of bladder injury, which appears attributable to more experience gained with an acquisition of increased skill levels and improved techniques.

Predictive Factors in Relapsed Ovarian Cancer for Complete Tumor Resection

"Results:

Overall, 177 consecutive patients (pts) were analyzed. The median age at first diagnosis was 55 years (range, 23-83 years). The complete tumor resection rate was 44.6%. Predictive factors that correlated with an adverse surgical outcome in terms of residual tumor were ascites <500 ml (Odds ratio, OR=0.3; 95% Confidence interval, CI=0.1-0.8 p<0.05), tumor involvement of the small bowel (OR=0.22; 95% CI=0.07-0.71 p<0.05), tumor spread in the upper abdomen (OR=0.33; 95% CI=0.1-0.9 p<0.05) and platinum resistance (OR=0.1, 95% CI=0.06-0.5 p<0.01).

Serous tumor histology (OR=5.8) appeared to have a protective effect. Age and initial FIGO stage were of no predictive significance.

Conclusion:

Platinum-sensitive patients without ascites, no intestinal tumor involvement, tumor restricted to middle and lower abdomen, and of serous papillary histology have significantly higher complete tumor resection rates. Prospective studies are warranted to evaluate the predictive value of these factors."

The Numbers Game: The Risky Business of Projecting Risk (response/reference breast cancer paper)

Note: worth paying attention to the stats

full free access: Individualized Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

Summary Points

Cost-effectiveness analyses typically express their principal results as incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs).
ICERs are useful in making decisions for allocation of resources at a population level, but typical ICER measures have shortcomings when used for individual decisions.
For the same ICER, the cost-effectiveness may vary among individuals because not everyone assigns the same priorities to specific outcomes, shares the same attitudes toward risk, or faces the same distribution of expected outcomes.
ICER information can be enhanced by providing additional metrics that individualize cost-effectiveness analyses.
These metrics include the per person net benefit and cost, subgroup ICER estimates for observed measured sources of heterogeneity, and distributions of outcomes and costs for unknown or unmeasured sources of heterogeneity.

Full free access-traffic pollution and cancer risk

http://www.ehjournal.net/content/pdf/1476-069X-10-67.pdf

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J&J Is Short of Cancer Drug Doxil - WSJ.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903554904576460290484704816.html

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